Are you in a local car club and have you been helping all your friends install their car stereo equipment for them? It makes sense they want you to do it, because your car stereo audio system rocks and therefore they want your help to do it right and they know they need your advice too. No one wants to have dead batteries every day or worse off end up catching their car on fire due to the improper installation of equipment right?

Indeed and so there you are helping everyone for free, but why not make this a business too. All the local Yuppies in their SUVs want audio systems, automobile stereo electronic equipment, pedestrian radars, back up sonar alarms and GPS Systems. Why you can charge them $60.00 per hour installing their XM Satellite Radio at their office in a Mobile Car Audio and Automobile Stereo Electronic Equipment Installation business. Hey if you are that good why not make money at it right?

You can still put in your car club friends audio systems and such, but now they will have to pay you to do it or trade even if you discount your labor costs by half or a third. Meanwhile you can have your own business and use that money to keep your ride sounding better than everyone else’s and you will know what everyone else has too; because you are the one who installed it and you got paid to do it. Consider all this in 2006.

Perhaps you have not been following the new automotive technologies out there these days? We all have seen the back up cameras on large recreational vehicles to assist the driver right? Well now you can get such systems on many high-end luxury cars and SUVs. The car video back up systems are a pretty cool option indeed.

But now some automotive manufacturers are taking this concept to a whole new level. Lexus for instance now has a self-parking video system, so you can set it and allow the car to park itself while you watch on the video to make sure it does it correctly you see? Now some day these kinds of electronic video features will be on all cars and eventually all cars should be able to park themselves.

Imagine this new Lexus car feature on your current car? You drive up set the system and it will parallel park your car all by its self and then you can put on the final touches if it is not totally perfect and it will tell you; This is good. Boy I’ll say give me one of those! Want to learn more about this; here is a link

The advent of LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screens has resulted in an amazing number of applications, which were simply not viable because of the size of CRT display monitors. Car LCD screens have proven to be one of the biggest bonanzas for the consumer market. Because of smaller, lighter and thinner LCD monitors, we can use computers in the car or hook up TV, DVD players and even video game consoles. Just imagine, to be able to watch your favorite TV shows or a movie while traveling long distance is a great source of entertainment for everyone; except for the driver of course! Even the kids can remain busy playing their much-loved video games. You can practically convert your car or SUV into a mobile home theater and enjoy just about all the amenities that you normally would in your household.

Car LCD screens have been instrumental in the growth of so called "in-vehicle computer manufacturers" offering low cost, low end "car pc systems" or "carputers". You can use a car PC or carputer to send or receive e-mails or do any of business related work. These revolutionary conveniences are the result of car LCD screens in conjunction with many other innovative technologies like hand held computers, wireless communications or satellite communications and others.

Car LCD screens come in many sizes and formats (regular or wide screen), ranging from about 7 inches to 12 inches and more to suit the various car types available in the market. You can go with base mounted LCD monitor if there is enough room in the vehicle or you can opt for smaller and compact in-dash screen. You can even get car LCD screens that also offer USB touch screen capabilities. The working of touch screens is based upon emulation of mouse. Consequently, any software designed to work with a mouse will work with the touch screen monitors mounted in the car. Besides the space saving design and size of the car LCD monitors, they also offer an extraordinary bright and high-resolution picture quality that is a treat to watch.

GPS (Geographical Positioning System) is probably one of the most outstanding applications made possible by the development of car LCD screens. This state of the art technology is simply amazing and very useful for every driver on the road. You will never make a wrong turn and never get lost again if your vehicle is equipped with GPS technology. GPS software packages are available for the USA, Canada and most of Europe. It offers the capability to receive turn-by-turn directions to any address nationwide. Because of the clarity of picture quality, the user interface is easy to read on nearly any small car mounted LCD monitor, with its contrasting colors, big icons and fonts. You can even plan your trip to optimize your route before you even leave home! It is a great system for long distance travel that enables traveling from point A to B safe, simple and efficient.

If you are a teenager or an adult who likes music, then it is very important for you to have a quality stereo system in your vehicle. Factory car stereos in modern vehicles include CD changers, MP3 players and DVD players, LCD displays, satellite and Internet connections and many other options to choose from. The sound quality of the car stereo depends on the car speakers. If you have 2-way or 3-way speakers you will be able to enjoy the sound quality you are looking for. Another option you have especially when designing a complete audio system is to buy component speakers.

If you want to have a high quality factory car system you don’t need to buy a $30,000 car. You can get portable factory car stereo features such as radios, CD players, DVD players and MP3 players. Depending on what you choose the sum might come up to $800 or be as low as $80. Most of the stereos you can buy from the stores have detachable faceplate and can be used in older vehicles. You don’t need to buy an expensive new car in order to have modern and quality car stereo. You can drive in style with a clean but not that new car with a booming sound system.

There are also some music lovers who want to make their own sound system with the help of technicians who are experts in stereo repair or rebuilding. Would you like to spend much money on purchasing a factory car stereo instead of building one with the parts you already possess?

f you are not able to do it by yourself then you can have it done by a professional mechanic. Some companies specialized in car stereos will charge you very little for the repair or creation of a new stereo system so you should take advantage of their services. These companies often sell replacement parts as well.

Online vendors are another option you might consider. They are all around the country and they can totally repair your factory car stereo provided you sent the merchandise. Companies such as Better Business Bureau offer warranties and official affiliations to their customers so that the latter will feel at ease using the company’s services. There are also warranties for legitimate online companies which are worth considering.

Some sellers even offer instructions how to remove a factory car stereo from your vehicle and replace it with a different one. When you need information on where to find factory car stereos or how to repair your own, there is no doubt that the Internet is the prime place to find what you are looking for.

How to install your wiring, and make it a.) Invisible, or b.) Nice to look at:

Alrightee! So, you're off to installing all of the big-time components to your stereo system. I know you really really really want to skip the boring parts (like running wires), and go straight to installing the components, and turning on your system. Nnnnnno!

Like I have said countless times before, we're here to do a QUALITY stereo install. Not some janky, lame-o quickie job. We're installing a stereo for the life of your vehicle, and as such, we spend a little extra time to do things properly. Sooooo, when it comes to wiring, we need to think about how we want to do things first.

To re-cap. Do you know what components you'll be installing? Even if you don't have all of the components now, hopefully you know what your plans are. This allows you to run all of the wires, so when you finally get your components, you can just mount them, and hook up the wires, and you're ready to rock.

Don't be stupid like most people, and think of components first, THEN think about how to install them. Think of how to install components, get the install parts, THEN install the components. DUH!!! By the way, you'll save time and money with this approach.

Was that a long enough introduction? OK, let's get into what you should know about wiring!

First, buy all of the wiring that you think you'll need, and some extra just for safety. Don't worry, your money won't be wasted!

Next, disassemble your vehicle in the places where the wiring will be run. When I say disassemble, I mean it! Pull out seats, carpet, panels, everything! Trust me, this will make running wires easier and safer.

If you plan to use any sort of sound insulation or damping material, now is the time to lay it. If you don't plan on using it, why not? This will make your system sound better by lowering noise, and by eliminating vibrations. Just do it!

Now, you get to run wires. Run them everywhere they'll be needed. Run power wires, RCA wires, speaker wires, interface wires, remote turn on wires. EVERYTHING.

Now that they're laid out how you want and need them, it's time to secure them. Vehicle manufacturers use ties everywhere to keep wires organized and out of the way. Now it's your turn! Many many many people skip this step, and I don't think it's too smart.

Why?

Because when wires are subjected to vibrations, stress, weather, and other things that are constantly present in vehicles, they tend to wear away. When wires wear away, you get...

Short circuits! Vehicle fires! Ruined components!

Don't risk it, just secure your wires!

If you have amp racks or other items that your wiring will go through, it's time to mount those items, and secure the wiring to them.

OK, OK. Those are the basic steps you'll go through to run wires. But, how do you actually do it? Let's break it down:

1.) Measure distances between where components will be mounted, and what they connect to. For example, measure from the battery to where you'll mount your amp. Also, don't be stupid. Buy a few extra feet at each end, so you'll have room for error. Also, you'll want to make sure none of the wires are stretched. You want to have some slack at each end. This will make your life much easier.

Other distances to measure:

Head unit to amp

Amp to speakers

Head unit to cd/dvd changer, mp3 player, navigation system, etc.

Also, before you buy your wires, be sure you know what will work best with your planned components. If you're planning to install a 500 watt amp, and you know that amp will be 17' from the battery, use a chart to figure out what wire guage to use. People like to get all loco in the cabeza with power wire, and spend $5 a foot on 0 guage wire. WHY??? If you don't need it, don't buy it!

2.) OK, so you have all of your wiring in hand, and ready to go. Now is the time to take apart parts of your vehicle. First, figure out where your wires will be run. I usually run my power wire on the same side of the vehicle as the battery. I also usually run my RCA cables down the center of the vehicle. Knowing this information will tell you where you need to remove parts from your vehicle. If you're not going to be running wires in a certain part of your vehicle, then it won't be necessary to take anything apart. UNLESS!! UNLESS!!! UNLESS!!!! You plan to put some sound damping material down. I always recommend this!

So, here we go. Time for the fun part. First things first. Disconnect the ground (aka negative) wire from the battery.

Pull up panels! I highly recommend some sort of panel removal tool to remove panels. This will help protect your panels from breaking.

3.) Time to run wires!

First, we'll run the power cable: Find a hole in the firewall of your vehicle. If you can't find a hole, you might be able to squeeze a power cable through the far corner of your hood, by the windshield and into your vehicle that way. If you can't do that, then you'll have to drill. Every car is different, but one piece of advice is always true: Plan ahead, and be careful! Inspect where you plan to drill the hole, and be sure you won't damage anything in the process. Take it slow, or if you're feeling really nervous, drive your vehicle to a stereo shop, and have them run your power wire through the firewall. Next, run the cable wherever it will fit nicely, and not be visible once you put the carpet back in place. Run it all the way to your trunk (or wherever you plan to have your amp or distribution blocks mounted). Next, secure the cable. Use zip ties, or glue, or even velcro to make sure your power cable stays where it should. Be sure it is not near any moving parts, or rubbing on anything that will strip the insulation. Also, be sure it will not get in the way of anything once you re-install all of the panels, carpet, etc.

Next, let's run your RCA cable(s), interface cables and Remote turn on wire. Again, be sure the negative cable is disconnected from the battery. Disassemble any and all of the panels surrounding your head unit. Pull your head unit out. Next, pull up all of the panels, consoles and carpet around where you'll be running your RCA cable and interface cable. Connect the remote turn-on wire to your head unit's wiring harness. If you are planning to connect more than one or two devices to your head unit's remote turn-on, you will want to look into installing a relay. Next, run the RCA cables, interface cable and remote turn-on. All of the stuff I said earlier about power cables is also true of RCA and interface cables. Be sure your cable is not near any moving parts, it is not rubbing against anything that will strip the insulation, and it is mounted in such a way that it will not show once the panels and carpet are put back in place. Connect the RCA cables to the pre-outs on your head unit, and be sure you know which RCA cable goes to which channel on your amp. Many RCA cables use color-coding, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Plug in your interface cable. Now, re-install your head unit. Make sure everything is all hooked up before you put everything back together!!

OK, last step. Let's run speaker wire! This is exactly like running all of the other wires above. Pull up the panels. Run the wires. Be mindful of where you plan to run them. Secure them. Make sure you have a few extra feet at each end of the speaker cable. I know this sounds stupid, but trust me. It's more stupid to spend all of this time running wire only to discover that it's too short. Then, you have to pull the wire up, throw it away, then run it all over again. DUMB!

4.) Secure wires!

Now that your wires are run, it's time to secure them. There are many ways to secure wires, and not all of them will work at all times. In fact, you'll probably need to use a variety of methods to secure your wires throughout your vehicle. Soooooo....

1.) Secure wires with zip ties to other bundles of wires.

2.) Secure wires with zip ties to small holes (or create small holes)

3.) Use glue to secure zip ties to your vehicle, then secure the wires with them.

4.) Run wires behind objects that they can be secured to.

5.) Use velcro to secure wires

5.) Secure wires to mounting locations (amp racks, speaker pods, etc)

If you have any sort of custom enclosure or rack for your stereo components, you'll want to find a way to secure your wires to the rack or enclosure. If these racks or enclosures are designed to be seen, you might want to take some time making the wires visible, and looking good.

In the example of amp racks, you can drill holes where all of the electrical connections go into the amp. Run the wires through these holes, and to your amp. This trick will make your wires look nice and clean, and keep your wires organized.

OK, here's the deal: If you want to build a quality stereo system, SOUND DEADENING IS NOT OPTIONAL; IT IS MANDATORY.

Why is that?

Let me ask you a question: Do you want to hear music, or road noise? Do you want your license plate to be quiet, or rattle when the bass hits? Do you want to hear your tires, or do you want to hear MUSIC?

I know I want to hear the music, and as such, I never do a real car stereo installation without using sound deadening material.

So, with all of that said, let's take a closer look at sound deadening.

Sound deadening comes in many forms, but the two main types are spray on, and matting.

Spray on deadening comes in either an aerosol spray paint can or in a large bucket. The aerosol can is great for small jobs, but if you plan to go crazy with the deadening, you'll want to buy it in bulk. When you buy it in bulk, you'll also need a nozzle of some sort. Usually this can be purchased with the large bucket of sound deadening. This type of sound deadening material works best for tight areas, and where you want a medium amount of sound deadening.

The other kind of sound deadening comes in sheets and is applied with an adhesive on the back of the sheet. This deadening is more difficult to work with, but much more effective than the spray-on type. It is usually used on larger areas, or where more deadening is needed.

Because sound deadening can get expensive, the smart installer installs it where it is most effective. To figure this out, take a drive in your car with the radio off. Listen to where the most noise comes into the vehicle. The main places I look to deaden are around the wheel wells, the firewall (of course), the doors, the roof of the trunk, under the rear seats, and under the center console.

SO! Check out those places, check out any other place where noise comes through, and start figuring out how much material you'll need.

This rule should go without saying, but get more material than you think you'll need. The reason for this is because once you have the material installed, you'll want to do a second listening, only this time with the music turned on. You will most definitely find rattles that weren't noticed before. You will probably also find some places where you'll want to bulk up on sound deadening.

When reproducing music, noise and distortion are your biggest enemies. Sound deadening will go a long way towards fixing these problems.

In addition to silencing road noise, sound deadening works great for reducing rattles in your vehicle. For example: Say you just mounted some high powered speakers in your doors. Because vehicle manufacturers never intend for high powered speakers in the doors, they aren't designed to handle the vibrations.

To fix the vibrations (which sound HORRIBLE), just cut out a ring of sound deadening material, and apply it to the spot where you mount the speaker. Mount the speaker to the top of the sound deadening material, and be sure the speaker is bolted down tightly. Now, try turning up the stereo again. Did this fix the problem? If not, try applying another layer of sound damping material.

Another trick: Have you ever noticed that certain panels in your vehicle vibrate when certain bass frequencies play? Get some of the spray-on sound deadening material, and apply it to the back of the panel to dramatically decrease the vibrations. For larger panels, use sound deadening sheets.

Another trick: Does your license plate rattle when the bass hits? Don't look like an idiot, fix it! Take some sound deadening material, and apply it to the back of the license plate and the license plate frame. Try the bass again, only this time you won't embarass yourself when you drive through a parking lot!

Years ago when you had to get somewhere you had to spend all day pulling out the map and checking and double checking where you have to go and where you are at the moment. I will never forget having to look around for an intersection that was large enough to be shown on the map. I got really sick of having to update the maps of the cities that I travel too. The bad thing is that no matter how recent the map is by the time it makes it through the processes and production and hits the shelves to be bought by the general public, there have already been dozens of roads and places developed since the map was planned out.

Technology is amazing because the typical paper map is completely obsolete. Now we have electronic devices that can tell you down to a few feet where in the world you are and where you need to go. Actually these machines can figure out on the spot what your movements have done to the original route planned. These really cool devices have perfectly scaled representations of the land you are on at the given time. Many of them have some voices so that you do not even have to look at the screen. The machine will tell you how far away your next turn is and whether it is a right or left. If you pass the place you have to turn the machine will tell you in a polite voice that you must turn around and go the other way.

Electronics have really come a long way over the recent years. The scary thing is that as perfect as the technology is now it will grow leaps and bound in the upcoming years. I cannot wait to see what the geniuses at the electronic companies come up with next.

Car radio installation accessories comprise of harness adapters leads, fascia adapters, stalk/steering wheel control adapters (also known as SMART leads) and aerial adapters.

One or more of the above adaptors may be needed when you are installing an in-dash CD or MP3 player or a complete CD changer package. Car radio installation accessories enable you to install your new radio/head unit seamlessly without the need to cut any wires and so will not invalidate your car warranty.

Harness Lead
Simply connect the harness adapter (by push fit) in between your car radio wiring and your new radio/head unit. This will enable you to connect them together safely and seamlessly. This means that you will not have to cut any of your cars existing wiring, therefore not invalidating the warranty.

Fascia Adaptor
Many factory-fitted radios are now a unique shape, design and are integrated into the dash. Removing your factory-fitted radio in order to fit a standard sized radio (i.e. Alpine, Kenwood, Sony, etc), will alter your dashboard appearance by leaving a large hole. A fascia adapter will reduce this hole enabling your new radio to fit perfectly into the dash reproducing the original look.

Aerial Adapters
You may require an aerial adapter, as some cars use a female socket instead of the conventional male plug. The adaptor simply pushes into your cars female socket and the result is a male plug that fits into the rear of your new radio. Conveniently, one is included with all new radios.

Stalk/ Steering Wheel Control Adapter
Steering control adapters, commonly known as stalk control leads, enable your car's steering wheel radio controls to remain fully functional when you are adding an aftermarket in-dash radio/head unit on it's own or as part of a CD changer package.

These connect by push fit to your existing wiring at the rear of your radio that is linked to the steering wheel control.

Stalk control leads are available for all car makes and models and for Sony, Kenwood and Panasonic radios. In order for the stalk control lead to be compatible with each brand of radio there must be a specific socket or lead present on the radio that will accept the stalk control lead connection, linking the two together seamlessly.